Terminal for drag conveyers



July 18, 1933.

M. B. SMITH TERMINAL FOR DRAG CONVEYERS Filed March 14 1930 3Sheets-Sheet 1 Envy/l1 o z MAUR/CF B. .J'M T July 18, 1933. M, sMlTH1,919,175

TERMINAL FOR DRAG CONVEYERS Filed March 14, 1950 3 SheetsSheet 2 July18, 1933. M, B. SMITH 1,919,175

TERMINAL FOR DRAG CONVEYERS Filed March 14, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 3anvemboz MAURIC 5. .SM/ n1 351 7 1 Qua/mu qmm Patented July 18, 1933um'rrrn sures B. OI ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR T6 THE WESTERN UNIONTELEGRAPH COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CC-RPOR-ATIGN OF NEW YORKTERMINAL FOR DRAG CONVEYERS Application filed March 14, 1930. Serial No.435,868.

This invention relates to: conveyors tor sheet material such as-l'etters, telegrams-,- and the like, in which: the artiolos are transportedin aIsn-bstantially fiat or unfolded condition.

5 In central telegraph ofiices it is the customary; practiceto transporttelegrams from onepart of the-ofliceor-f-rom one operator or attendantto another, by means of conveyors.

. 'Fhe'se conveyors take a variety of forms depending onthe service tobe performed, the

length ofi'the-conveyer, and other considerations, and the conveyorsystem of a large ofiice may'consi'st oi" a number of conveyors ofdifi'eront f'orms fe'eding into one another. For instance, forconveyorsof considerahle length and where-vertical or inclined runs aredesirable, it is advantageous to employ a drag conveyor; such'as! isdescribed in 'a copond-i'ng" applicatibnof F. dH-umy et all, memes filed January 193-0, and entitled Drag; coiiveyori B'riefi'y,, the dragconveyor described in' the above men'- tionodapplication consists of asingle endless bel't of a width considerably less than the width oft-hearticles to be conveyed', the bolt being dragged along" main oroperating run in 'afiac trough having-outwardl flaringfordivergi'nggsidewalls. The articles are conveyed" between the; belt and the trough withthe edges of the articles extending over at least. a part of the flaringsides. v on short horizontal runs,,part icul'arly past telegraphreceiving and transmitting operas tor positions, customary to. employ aV-trough conveyor, such as is described in patent ofFQEl dHIimy et al.,.No. 1,80%,906 granted April 21,, L931 and, entitled Belt Q nVoyen, Inthis; type. oliconveyer the ar- 40 holes are carried. in a suhstantiallyvertical or onendpesition, softhat. thev address, routing-data, andsimilar! information, is readily visible and: the. conveyor isconstructed so that telegrams may be placed therein or nomovedtherefrom, by the operator, at any point alongitsglength.

The present invention is especially concorned-e with a. conveyor 0tthoirdrazgi type but has for one of its objects t'hewprovisionof meansfihrttnans ferring sheet material from a) drazg con veycr into aconveyor of the V- t roug h, or other-type.

Another object to provide an improved outlet terminal construction for adrag; conveyor, to facilitate the discharge of tho-sheet articles fromthe conveyor.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In accordance with one embodiment of my coming engaged between the beltand the feed roller, or from following around the roller with the belt,shoulll' they adhere thereto; as by static. I provide a guide member inthe general form of an inverted V, having its apex adjacent the side ofthe belt away from v the trough, in advance of the roller, and havingtheleg portions disposed at opposite'sidos of the roller. i

The guide member has its corresponding parts substantially parallel tothe trough whereby a guidoway is formed from inadvanco of the roller, tothe outlet end of the conveyor.

The trough or a portion thereof and the guide member extend verticallydownward below'tho end of the belt to direct the articles in theirproper downward course, and may terminate within the opening of a trayor other receptacle, or another conveyor, such a a V-trough conveyor.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood, reference willbe had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of the outlet end of a drag conveyordischarging into a V-trough conveyor;

Figure 2'is a side elevation of the outlet end of the drag conveyor,showing the V'- trough conveyor in section;

Figure 3 is adetailod perspective view of the discharge end of amodified form of terminal;

Figure 4 is an elevation 01 the guide member employed with the terminalshown in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a section on the line 55 of Figure 3, and;

Figure 6 is a section on the line G -(3 of Figure 3.

The drag conveyer shown in Figure 1 comprises a trough 5 having a base 6and outwardly flaring sides 7, and a belt 8 of a width slightly lessthan the width of the ba 6, the belt traveling in the trough in frictional contact with the base. The articles to be conveyed, such as telegramblanks T, are disposed in the conveyer between the belt 8 and thetrough, the sides of the articles extending over the flaring side walls7 so as to assume a substantially concave shape. The trough serves as aguide for the belt, and on horizontal runs as a support therefor, andthe flaring sides 7 prevent the articles from working out from under thebelt at either side thereof.

At the outlet end of the drag conveyer, the trough and belt are directedvertically downward, the belt passing around an end roller 9 and thenceby any convenient return path to the opposite end of the conveyer.

The outwardly flaring sides of the trough are flattened out into theplane of the base, at their lower ends, at 12 and the base of the troughis cut away at 11, although this is not essential. The flattened-outside flanges 12 extend vertically downward below the roller 9.

A guide member 13, which may be a wire bent into a hairpin or invertedV-shape, has its apex 14 positioned against the side of the belt awayfrom the trough, above the roller 9 with the downwardly divergingportions 15 of the guide extending across the opposite sides of theroller 9 and downward below the pulley, substantially parallel to andspaced from the ends 12 of the trough. The guide 13 may be supported inany suitable manner from the conveyer frame, not shown, similarly to theguide 28 of Figure 3.

The flattened-out side flanges of the trough permit the telegram blanksto straighten out as they approach the roller 9, and this straighteningout process is assisted by the guide 13, which engages the outer ends ofthe telegrams and forces them backward toward the flanges of the trough.The guide member also precludes any possibility of the ends of thetelegram blank becoming bent over against the rear side of the belt andthus be coming engaged between the belt and the roller 9. It alsoprevents the telegrams from adhering to the belt and passing with thebelt around the roller 9.

Beneath the end of the drag conveyer is a conveyer of the V-trough typeinto which the drag conveyer discharges. The V-trough conveyer comprisesa trough having diverging side walls 16 opening at the bottom into arectangular housing 17 through which a hori zontal flat belt 18 travels.The sheet articles are conveyed through the V-trough conveyer in avertical or on-end position indicated at T and they may be readilyremoved from or placed in the conveyer at any point along its length.The ends 12 of the trough and the diverging leg portions 15, of theguide 13, of the drag conveyer, terminate a suflicient distance abovethe belt 17 of the V-trough conveyer so as not to interfere with thethrough passage of articles T in the V- trough, Adjacent the dischargeend of the drag conveyer, the V-trough conveyer has a pair of flaringextensions 19 projecting upwardly at each side of the ends 12 of thetrough and guide member 15, so as to insure the deposition of thearticle into the V-trough conveyer. I

The straightening of the telegram blanks from the concave form in whichthey are conveyed, into a substantially vertical plane permits them todischarge in a relatively narrow trough. I have discovered, however,that ii the sheet material is maintained in concave shape, that is, withthe vertical sides bent relative to the body portion as they dischargefrom the conveyer, greater rigidity is obtained and the articles can beprojected downwardly at a relatively high speed and for materiallygreater distances Without un due deflection from air currents and thelike, and in Figures 3 to 6 I have shown a modification of the dischargeterminal of the drag conveyer in which the material is discharged inthis shape.

In Figure 3 the drag conveyer channel 20 is shown supported by a crossbrace 21 extending horizontally between two vertical angle irons 22forming a part of the conveyer frame. The belt 23 travels verticallydownward in contact with the channel 20 and around the roller 24 Theroller 24 is supported on a bolt 25 carried by a pair of bracket arms 26supported from a rectangular bracket 27 which in turn is secured to theframe members 22. The channelv 20 extends a slight distance below theroller 24.

The guide member 28 of the shape shown in Figure 4 is supported adjacentthe lower end of the channel and parallel thereto by a. stirrup 29supported from the bracket arms 26 by vertical strips 30. The belt 23passes between the guide member 28 and the channel 20.

The guide member may be formed from a portion of a channel and comprisesa base portion 31 and outwardly flaring side flanges 32', the sideflanges and the base tapering inwardly at the upper end to form a narrowtop portion 33. The base of the guide memher is cut away at the lowerend to permit the roller 2d and the belt 23 to pass between the sideflanges 32 and the side flanges ex tend. downwardly below the rollerparallel to the channel :20 to form a guideway for the message blanks.'lhemessages T are carried downwardly in the channel with the verticaledges curved between the outwardly extending flanges of the guide andchannel and due to the velocity of travel thereof, it projectcd frombetween these members at the lower end thereof with considerable force.The flaring flanges of the guide and channel maintain the. paper curvedthus in'iparting sufficient rigidity thereto to prevent appreciablefluttering or deflection of the paper due to air currents or airresistances. The guidemelnbers also prevent the edges of the paper frombecoming folded over in such way as to become engaged between the beltand the roller 24,- and also prevents the articles from following aroundthe roller with the belt due to static.

It is obvious that numerous changes and modifications may be made in theconstruction of the terminal of the ra conveyer and in the manner ofdirecting the articles into a V-through conveyer or other receptacleand, therefore, I do not desire to be limited to the details shown anddescribed except in accordance with the appended claims.

What, I claim is:

1. A drag conveyor comprising a stationary support having a base andoutwardly ex tending sides, a belt positioned to travel in contact withsaid support, whereby sheet material may be conveyed intermediate saidsupport andbelt, means for deflecting said belt away from said supportand a guide member having portions extending substantially parallel tothe sides of said support, and forming with said sides a guideway fordirecting said material past the point of de-- flec io-n of said belt.

2. A drag convever comprisin a trough having a base and outwardlyflaring side flanges, a belt positioned in said trough to tI'flVQltherein, whereby sheet material may be conveyed intermediate said troughand belt with the edges of said material extending over said sideflanges and disposed at an angle to its midportion. and a guide memberarranged at the opposite side of said belt and having portions extendingsubstantially parallel. to said side flanges to form a guideway for theedges of said material offset fr m the plane of the belt.

3. A drag conveyer comprising a trough having a base and outwardlyflaring side flanges, a belt positioned in said trough to traveltherein. whereby sheet material may be conveyed intermediate said troughand belt with the edges of said material extending over said sideflanges and disposed at an angle to its midportion, and a guide memhercomprising a trough arranged at the opposite side of said beltsubstantially parallel to said first trough, the side flanges of saidtroughs being spaced apart so as to form a guide channel for the edgesof said material, diverging from the plane of the belt.

i. A conveyor for sheet material comprising a pair of trough membershaving outwardly flaring side flanges, said members ljeing spaced apartin parallel relation, a belt positioned to travel between said troughmembers in contact with one thereof for conveyin sheet materialintermediate said trough and belt, with the edges of said materialextending outwardly between said parallel side flanges at an angle tothe midportion thereof.

5. A drag conveyor for sheet material comprising a. trough member, abelt positioned to travel in said trough in contact therewith forconveying said sheet material between said belt and trough, said troughhaving side flanges extending beyond the sides of said belt, a rolleradjacent the discharge end of said conveyer around which said beltpasses at an angle to said trough, and a guide member arranged adjacentthe outer side of said belt and having a forward portion of width thansaid belt p tioned in advance of the roller and spaced apart legportions extending to each side of said roller.

6. A drag conveyor for sheet material comprising a trough member, a beltpositioned to travel in said trough in contact therewith for conveyingsheet material by tween said belt and trough, said trough having sideflanges extending beyond the sides of said belt, a roller adjacent thedischarge end of said conveyer around which said-belt passes at an angleto said trough, and guide members extending to each side of said rollorsubstantially parallel to and spaced from said side flanges for forminga guideway past said roller for said sheet material.

7. A drag conveyer for sheet material comprising a trough member, a beltpositioned to travel in said trough in contact therewith for conveyingsheet material between said belt and trough, said trough having sideflanges extending beyond the sides of said belt, a roller adjacent thedischarge end of said conveyer around which said belt passes at an angleto said trough, and a guide member having portions extending to eachside of said roller substantially parallel to and spaced from said sideflanges for forming a guideway past said roller for said sheet material,said guide member terminating in advance of said roller within theconfines of said belt.

8. The combination of a trough having a base and outwardly extendingsides, a belt positioned to travel in said trough in contact therewithfor conveying sheet material intermediate said belt and trough, a rolleradjacent the outlet end of said conveyer around which said belt passes,a guide member associated with said belt in advance of said roller, thetrough and guide member extending beyond the roller in the direction oftravel of the conveyer and serving to guide said sheet material out ofsaid conveyer.

9. The combination of a trough having base and outwardly extendingsides, a belt positioned to travel in said trough in contact therewithfor conveying sheet material intermediate said belt and trough, a rolleradjacent the outlet end of said conveyer around which said belt passes,a guide member associated with said belt in advance of said roller, thetrough and guide member extending beyond the roller in the direction oftravel of the conveyer and serving to guide said sheet material out ofsaid conveyer, and a second conveyor disposed beneath the outlet end ofsaid drag conveyer to receive said sheet material therefrom.

10. The combination of a drag conveyer comprising a trough having a baseand outwardly extending sides, a belt positioned to travel in saidtrough in contact therewith, whereby said sheet material may be conveyedintermediate said belt and trough, a roller adjacent the outlet end ofsaid conveyer around which said belt passes, a guide member associatedwith said be t in advance of said roller and a second conveyer having aninlet opening disposed beneath the outlet end of said drag conveyer,said trough and guide extending beyond the roller in the direction oftravel of the drag conveyer and terminating within said inlet opening ofsaid second conveyer and serving to guide said sheet material from saiddrag conveyer into said second conveyer.

11. A conveyer for sheet material comprising a longitudinally extendingsupport, a belt supported upon said support and arranged to travel incontact therewith, whereby sheet material may be conveyed intermediatethe belt and support with the sides of the material extending outwardlybeyond said belt and a stationary guide member disposed substantiallyparallel to said support and having means for guiding the outwardlyextending sides of said material in a direction such as to deflect thematerial from the belt in a longitudinal direction at a certain pointtherealong.

12. A conveyer for sheet material comprising a pair of stationary guidemembers of less width than the sheets and spaced apart in parallelrelation and a belt positioned to travel between said members in contactwith at least one thereof for conveying sheet ma terial intern'iediatesaid guide and belt, said belt being of a width materially less thansaid sheet material or guides, whereby a portion of the sides of saidsheet material extending outwardly beyond said belt is carried betweensaid guides.

13. A drag conveyer comprising a conveyor element, a belt positioned totravel in contact therewith whereby sheet material may be conveyedtherebetween, means for deflecting the belt away from said conveyerelement, and a guide member disposed substantially parallel to theconveyer element and spaced therefrom, said guide having a forwardportion of less width than the belt and spaced apart leg portionsextending to each side of the belt.

MAURICE B. SMITH.

